Complete the following:“If you don’t have time to ______ then when will you ____?

A little secret about this blog: I generally do not know what I will write about until Thursday or Friday. I then type my first rough draft and let it sit for 24 hours or so before I revise and post. I have not created a long list of titles or topics or thoughts to write about. But without fail, each week I am inspired by something I read, observe or that happens to me. That has been one of the benefits of staying focused on posting each week (now at 203 continuous weeks and counting!). I am always on the lookout for something noteworthy and life-affirming.

This week’s inspiration came from one of our 5 a.m. workout crew at the local gym. Joe is an affable retiree who is sneaking up on octogenarian status. As we were working out at nearby stations we were both extolling the benefit of our early morning regimens. Joe then said, “I just don’t have time to grow old!”

I loved it! And told him I was immediately appropriating his aphorism.

Another one of the gym “residents,” Bobby, often quips that “Motion is the lotion” when he speaks about the benefit of constantly exercising and stretching our bodies.

Image: Naypong/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

And both of these gentlemen reminded me of a college student I tutored more than 20 years ago. That young 20-something opened one of our sessions with an insight he had finally gained: “Staying up to date is so much easier than catching up!”

The wisdom from each of these men is profoundly simple—and so often ignored.

That got me to thinking about completing this question:

“If you don’t have time to ______ then when willyou ____?

If, for instance, we “let our body go” it will become more difficult to get back into the healthy routine of diet and exercise than if we had remained on task. If you don’t have time to go to the gym, eat healthy, get enough sleep or whatever else you need to do then whenwillyou have the time to be sick and retreat to our bed or the sofa to recover? If you don’t have time to work out now, then when will you be able to when your body is weak and stiff?

Like the student who wants to do extra credit to bring up a grade point average. If you don’t have time to do the required work, then whenwillyou have time to do extra work?

If you don’t have time to tend to and nurture a relationship, then whenwillyou have time to mend that relationship?

If you don’t have time to plan for your financial future when you have the years to build the wealth, then whenwillyou be able to do it once you need that money?

If you don’t have time to stop and put gas in the car, are you telling me you will have the time to wait on a tow truck? How about if you don’t have time to put gas in your energy tank? Then whenwillyou have time to recharge your batteries?

I like the way you begin with a sentence begging for completion. Good pedagogy, of course. The whole post was wonderful, but I latched onto the first part especially about your method of blog creation. You are a full-time prof, and I am amazed at how you are able to fit a weekly blog post into your schedule. When you retire (!), you’ll have more time for writing + all those other things on your agenda.